An op-ed from the New York Times editorial board is shining a light on the harms of COVID-19 school closures and its effect on children.
The op-ed, titled “The Startling Evidence on Learning Loss Is In,” argues taking millions of children out of school during the start of the pandemic “may prove to be the most damaging disruption in the history of American education.”
“It also set student progress in math and reading back by two decades and widened the achievement gap that separates poor and wealthy children,” the editorial board wrote.
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It also noted that learning loss is being compounded by student absenteeism as children returned to the classroom.
“In the early grades, these missing children are at greater risk of never mastering the comprehension skills that make education possible. The more absences these students accumulate, the more they miss out on the process of socialization through which young people learn to live and work with others,” the op-ed continued. “The more they lag academically, the more likely they are to drop out.”
Fox News’ Charlie Hurt said the impact of school closures on children and their education was “predicted in real time as we went through [the pandemic].”
US STUDENTS NEED NEARLY 4 MONTHS OF EXTRA SCHOOL TO FIX POST-COVID ‘ACHIEVEMENT GAPS’ IN READING,
